Recently published in Nature Communications, the NASA-funded study uses synthetic biology to reverse-engineer modern enzymes and rebuild their possible ancestors. Betül Kaçar, a professor of ...

A new study proposes detecting life in space by spotting patterns across many planets instead of focusing on one at a time.

Every living organism uses tiny quantities of metals to carry out biological functions, including breathing, transcribing DNA, turning food into energy, or any number of essential life processes. Life ...

In classrooms across India, Life Processes lessons are often reduced to a hurdle: a list of enzymes, flowcharts for transport, and diagrams to be labeled. But to treat this topic as mere coursework is ...

Re-creating a piece of the universe in a bottle might sound like science fiction, but it’s exactly what Linda Losurdo did. Losurdo, a doctoral student in materials and plasma physics at the University ...

As Earth formed, new geologic processes, especially those related to the interaction of hot fluids with rock during igneous activity and plate tectonics, gave birth to over 1500 new mineral species (4 ...

In September, NASA announced the discovery of a possible sign of life, known as a potential biosignature, on Mars. The Perseverance rover, which has been exploring a dried-up lakebed for years, found ...

Hints of ancient microbes in Martian rocks and a revived theory about our cosmic ancestry are forcing scientists to rethink where the story of life really began. Instead of a warm little pond on early ...

Every living organism uses tiny quantities of metals to carry out biological functions, including breathing, transcribing DNA, turning food into energy, or any number of essential life processes.